I agree with a bunch here who say that genius is something like the ability to figure out new situations and solve the problem at hand in a creative way.

One thing that makes someone smart I think, is knowing what you don't know. Realizing just how ignorant you are and being open-minded, not holding onto your preconceived notions... those things make you smart.

The ones who think they know something are usually pretty stupid and arrogant. On the other hand, the Tao te Ching says, "Give up knowledge, and put an end to your troubles!" and "In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of the tao, every day something is dropped."

honestly. having 1-in-a-million sort of talent. like Mozart was obviously a genius at composing.

but it's all relative, really. all of us can view ourselves as genius if we compare ourselves to other species of animals; we're the only species who can question our existence (though i'm not sure if that's a good thing or a curse... that would lead to another discussion).

I mean there was a time where humans weren't able to communicate through language; and now we can, as a whole. that's quite an accomplishment in itself. there always need to be an outlier to gear us towards improvement.

I agree with a bunch here who say that genius is something like the ability to figure out new situations and solve the problem at hand in a creative way.

One thing that makes someone smart I think, is knowing what you don't know. Realizing just how ignorant you are and being open-minded, not holding onto your preconceived notions... those things make you smart.

The ones who think they know something are usually pretty stupid and arrogant. On the other hand, the Tao te Ching says, "Give up knowledge, and put an end to your troubles!" and "In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of the tao, every day something is dropped."

In my definition, a genius is anyone who is thoroughly experienced at certain subjects and has the sufficient amount of knowledge to grasp their significance to in life and how to apply them to various situations. A genius also has the ability to reason everything he/she has done or learned to elucidate the information. Agreeing what TheCowster stated, critical insight veritably reflect the amount of knowledge and experience a genius possesses. Moreover, creativity is also utilized to provide a clearer perspective of a particular idea.

I agree with those who say that a 'genius' refers to someone who really is the cream of the crop. Not the top 5%, not the top 1%. I went to a school where strong maths and reasoning ability were a prerequisite to entry. That is to say, it was a school full of the children who had already worked out how to learn things efficiently, and how to solve problems. I'm no genius for sure, but I'm pretty sure I've met one. Some people really are a cut above the rest, and it's hard to identify the origin.

But I follow the boring school of thoughts that pretty much everything impacts on intelligence, and I suppose therefore genius. There's genetics, developmental conditions in the womb, conditions outside of the womb, having an engaging teacher, all of these things play a part (and more). Perhaps 'true genius' is simply what happens when the stars align, and you get a person who had all the right circumstances, the motivation and the opportunity.

Learning is something that happens over time of course, but if you play resource management games, you know that if you research resource generation technology earlier, you can skyrocket ahead of the curve, and build up your army later. So then, perhaps this applies to knowledge and wisdom. If you learn the thought patterns allowing you to learn new things more quickly earlier than other people, you end up ahead of the curve.

Is it helpful to talk about who is a genius and who isn't? It's a difficult question. We should all strive to be good at what we do, right? Though if we worry about being unique and amazing, we will often find ourselves unhappy with our situation. Maybe this is why we call other people geniuses and refuse to accept the moniker ourselves, so it's easier to settle into something normal (which is quite fine if you ask me - there are plenty more things to enjoy in life than simply being the best at something).

It takes a lot of active thinking to improve and be good at something. It doesn't matter so much that 2 people spend the same amount of time training in a subject when one of them doesn't care and leaves his mind on auto-pilot. The person who appears to be understanding everything may actually be the one trying the hardest.

Studies show that the people who are the best at a skill are simply the ones who spend the most time actively honing their skill-no "geniuses" made it to the top with minimal effort. I have not yet seen a valid sample say otherwise.

I also tend to think that another aspect of being smart involves having a thing for hardwiring thinking strategies throughout your life. A man is not good at speaking a language or playing chess because they think everything out like a living calculator, it's because they've had massive exposure and experience.

In general, I think brains that are wired differently from a young age are overrated when neuroplasticity is prevalent throughout life. Einstein was a late bloomer and Stephen Hawking's performance never showed at school/university until he started working to fund his marriage.

Finally, the best kind of genius uprising would be AI. Experts say that human intelligence will be become pathetic in comparison when AI reaches the singularity in around 30~35 years as AI will be far more intelligent than the combined intelligence of all humankind.

^ Honestly, I don't remember. I've read multiple studies on singularity AI, basically all of them saying how it's likely it'll come within this generation but I don't really keep track of these things. I wouldn't doubt that more than one type of expert have agreed to such a notion though.